Cessna 172S N827SP

Summary

On 6 September 2002 at about 17:45 local time, a Cessna 172S registered N827SP was involved in an accident near Immokalee, Florida, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 September 2002 at 17:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Immokalee, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Immokalee (IMM)

Coordinates

26.4194, -81.4017

Aircraft

Cessna 172S

Registration

N827SP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Naples → Immokalee

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL02LA166

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's improper flare at touchdown resulted in a hard landing while performing an off-airport precautionary landing after the inadvertent activation of the autopilot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the student pilot, she departed from runway 09, and at 300 feet above ground level she began "fighting with the yoke" of the airplane. The student pilot stated that she adjusted the trim, but the "nose was up and the airplane was coming down". She squawked 7700 on the transponder, and prepared for a precautionary landing by closing the throttle. The student pilot selected a field in front of her, approximately two miles northeast of the departure end of runway 09. The airplane landed hard, with the nose wheel impacting the ground first, and slid across a wet pasture coming to rest in a pond. The pilot stated that the autopilot circuit breaker had been pulled prior to flight and that she had observed the autopilot run through the preflight checks when electrical power was applied to the aircraft prior to departure. According to the student pilot, she had been instructed during her flight training to pull the circuit breaker prior to each solo flight and not to operate the autopilot at this stage of her training. Examination of the airplane revealed all of the circuit breakers were in the "IN" position. The nose landing gear collapsed aft and to the left, and the engine firewall was damage. The elevator trim was found in a nose up position. A series of tests were conducted to verify operation of the autopilot computer, autopilot circuit breaker, autopilot disconnect switch on the yoke, and the trim switch. The autopilot and its components operated normally during these tests.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.